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After last evening, I'm thinking rush hour is no time to be on a motorcycle. I took my bike to the shop for the 6K and 9K mile maintenance since as far as I could tell, no one's ever worked on this machine even though the previous owner claimed otherwise. I knew it would take a while, but I was really hoping they'd be done before rush hour. Granted, rush hour here is pretty tame compared to a larger city, but it's enough to make me dread being on the road then.
As my husband and I drove over to pick up the bike, we wondered which way would be better to come home – city or highway. Neither sounded good to me. He thought city would be better. I didn't like the idea of all that stopping and starting, people rushing through traffic and around corners, not looking as they constantly change lanes and dart through red lights. He thought the slower speeds would be safer. I liked the idea of the highway, with fewer lane changing morons, even though traffic would be heavier and faster.
After picking up the bike, I had to get gas. I couldn't even see any in the tank. That meant a little longer in the city. I definitely picked the wrong gas station, as it is on a curve and I had to turn left across two lanes of traffic. Keeping an eye on oncoming traffic, I'm just about ready to turn when I hear a tremendous squeal behind me. I look in my mirror and there's a giant pickup barreling down on me. Dude skidded into an oncoming lane as I hauled a$$ down the road. I got my gas and drove toward the highway with some trepidation.
The middle lane makes me pretty nervous. People cut in and out, and there's no way of knowing if they know you're there. I try to make my presence known with a blast of my pipes now and then, and I get next to people and look them in the eye. My headlamp is on bright, too. At least in the outside lanes, there's somewhere to go if someone sideswipes you. Ugh.
So what do you all think? Do you stay out of heavy traffic? How do you deal with it?
As my husband and I drove over to pick up the bike, we wondered which way would be better to come home – city or highway. Neither sounded good to me. He thought city would be better. I didn't like the idea of all that stopping and starting, people rushing through traffic and around corners, not looking as they constantly change lanes and dart through red lights. He thought the slower speeds would be safer. I liked the idea of the highway, with fewer lane changing morons, even though traffic would be heavier and faster.
After picking up the bike, I had to get gas. I couldn't even see any in the tank. That meant a little longer in the city. I definitely picked the wrong gas station, as it is on a curve and I had to turn left across two lanes of traffic. Keeping an eye on oncoming traffic, I'm just about ready to turn when I hear a tremendous squeal behind me. I look in my mirror and there's a giant pickup barreling down on me. Dude skidded into an oncoming lane as I hauled a$$ down the road. I got my gas and drove toward the highway with some trepidation.
The middle lane makes me pretty nervous. People cut in and out, and there's no way of knowing if they know you're there. I try to make my presence known with a blast of my pipes now and then, and I get next to people and look them in the eye. My headlamp is on bright, too. At least in the outside lanes, there's somewhere to go if someone sideswipes you. Ugh.
So what do you all think? Do you stay out of heavy traffic? How do you deal with it?
If you have options to avoid rush hour... do so!
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